Short Stuff: Incomplete Yawns

yawning is contagious. And if you want to know more about yawns, um, you can go listen to our episode on that. I don't remember when we released it, but we definitely have a yawning episode. Yeah, and not only contagious, but uh suggestive or suggestible mm hmm. Right. But the thing is yawning. It's such a non thing for most people that you just kind of take it for granted until Chuck, until you have the horrible experience of not

being able to complete a yawn. I feel like this has happened to me here and there, but not so much that has been a problem, but it's happened where you do notice it and you go, oh, that's not satisfying at all, right. And as a matter of fact, they have a name for that um. Yawning researchers use and hadonia, which is a larger neurological term for basically

an inability to feel happiness or pleasure UM. And they say that the an hardonia is the frustration because of an incomplete or inharmonious development of a yawn, possibly due to unconscious inhibition of the letting go that underlies a complete yawn. And that's where yawn becomes incomplete. It's the very last hitch, that very last part, which is also the part that's super duper satisfying. And because it's just such a there's such a process, that's that you just

know everybody knows that's a full yawn. If you won't complete a yawn, it's really hard to just be like, oh, well, didn't complete that yawn. What else is there to do today? Yeah. It almost has the same effect of the sneeze that never happens, is you sort of feel like, all right, you owe me one, right, who are cosmos? Right? But you don't set it to the side and like say I'll get you later, Like at least for me, I can't do anything but just spend however long it takes

to to complete the yawn. Oh see, I think I've usually just let it go. Um. It can become a problem though, and it's not like a lot of times. It isn't just a one off like when it happens to me, and that it can happen, you know, every few minutes, Like I guess whether you're trying to or not, and we'll get to have ways you maybe can try town on purpose to satisfy that completion. But uh, you know, there's a lot of things that could be going on.

The most sort of innocent of all could just be that you're stressed out or you know, you're a little more anxious than usual. Because in order to yawn, you have to you know, you you have to be able to relax to complete that second part. Those muscles in your face need to be able to have that uptick where they stretch out and then sort of that relaxation

point where you finished the yawn. Yeah, because if you stop and think about that last bit of the yawn really does pull on a bunch of different muscles, and if they're not loose because of anxiety or stress or whatever, it can it can really dampen your ability to yawn. Um. More troubling LYE Chuck, is it could indicate a sign of dysfunction in your nervous system. I know, and that's

not great. Um, it could be. And here's the thing is, they don't like as much as they know about yawns, they don't fully understand how every single part of it works within like biologically speaking, in your body. Because we know that cortisol has something to do with it, um, but they just don't know exactly how it affects it. But they do show that like when you on you have a temporary elevation of cortisol levels. So it could

be the central nervous system. It could be linked to uh, cortisol not doing what is supposed to be doing, or maybe a lack of it. Yeah. I think some people are saying, like, cortisol is a stress hormone that innervates the central nervous system. So maybe, yeah, maybe it's just not quite doing it quite enough so that your muscles can be activated to stretch the way they need to. Should we take a break, Yeah, let's take a break,

all right. We'll be right back beyond. Very quietly once, by the way in the first part and we'll be right back. So Chuck, if you find yourself in this desperate effort along the very edge of sanity, UM, there are some things you can do to help complete that yawn, because again, the universe owes you, um, and you need to get with yours right, that's right. I never really thought of putting that way, but I love it. Uh.

You need to get what's coming your way. And one of the ways that you can do it is, um, well, one is to just open your mouth really wide. Sometimes that can help trigger yawn. Yeah, just the very the very act of doing that like almost primes your mind to do a yawn. Your your mind's like, okay, fine, we'll just go ahead and yawn and UM. This actually

there's it's a multi step process. Like you if you don't, um start yawning, basically right after you open your mouth, you're supposed to just hold your mouth open until you do, and that will start the yawn and that yawn will get started. And it doesn't mean it's going to get complete, but you don't give up, you um, you just kind of keep holding on even mid yawn, like mouth wide open.

You've already drawn in, you know, a pretty significant breath, but you haven't reached the end until finally your your central nervous system is like, alright, find we'll we'll give it that last little kick and then you can completely yawn. So it takes patience and it also takes concentration to not concentrate and help it along just to let it happen. You're just making your body let it happen. Yeah, I

mean it sounds. Uh, it's ways you're said than done than say like try and relax, but you should try and relax. Um. One thing that you can also do, because we said they're contagious and it's not. You don't have to be in the room with someone. You can maybe listen to this episode and here's say the word yawn a bunch. You can go on. I'm sure there are YouTube videos of people just yawning one after the other,

uh and different ways. And if you watch that stuff and listen to that kind of thing, or read the word yawn over and over, that can work. Yeah. Even if you're like listening to this music of yawn Hommer, it might get you going. It's that contagious. Wait who he did acts a left from Bevere top so and I think he also did some Miami vice work too. So there's one thing that a lot of people will

tell you to do that is actually counterproductive. You should not do it because deep yawning is you know, part

of it is taking a very deep breath. Some people say, take a bunch of deep breaths, like basically like you're pulling on a lawnmower engine cord, but doing it through breathing, And that actually is probably not going to work, especially if the reason why you can't yawns you're stressed out or anxious, because you're probably going to hyperventilate yourself by taking those deep breaths, And what that tells your body is that, yes, and need I'm anxious because hyperventilating is

a part of anxiety. And now you're saying I'm super duper anxious, and it will probably have the opposite effect. It will make it even harder for you to complete a yawn. Yeah, not good, don't wanna don't a deep breath? Um, you know, we'll finish up. I guess with a couple of other uh. And I think we probably talked about this and yawning, but it's worth talking about again. A couple of other maladies with yawning, and am I to understand that disappearance of yawning means that you just don't

yawn anymore at all. The way that I took it is that you do yawn, but you you you no longer pay attention to it. It's not rewarding, it's not satisfying. You don't even realize you're doing it. Um, And that it indicates like, uh, you're missing like that hit of dopamine that makes yawning pleasant. And it's actually an indicator of Parkinson's in some some cases. Interesting, Okay, I thought that maybe it went away altogether. Yeah, you'd think so with the name, but they just kind of came up

a clunky name. Uh. The other is excessive yawning, which I know we talked about because there have been some really sort of you know, it might sound kind of funny that you can't stop yawning, but it's not funny at all. Um, if you stop laughing, everybody, Yeah, you have something that is overtaken your body. Uh. It can be very disruptive, even if it's something as simple as a yawn, And there have been all kinds of stories about people that yawned for, you know, days and days

and weeks at a time. I can't remember what the record was with that one lady, but it's uh, you know, it's not a good thing. No, no doing anything too often. It's not a good thing. They say moderation is the key to life. Right, So yeah, I could think of a couple of things. Well, since Chuck just said something hilarious, I think that this one's over, don't you. Okay, Short stuff is out, everybody. Stuff you Should Know is a

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